38 special +p heavy bullet more accurate than lighter target load?

[clearwater]

I made a few heavy loads with a 170 grain Kieth Wadcutter and Unique for hunting/backcountry.
900 fps

Also a batch of targets loads with bullseye and 125 grain round nose. 730 fps

I am pretty new to revolver shooting so got up close and was surprised to find the heavy fast loads were easier to keep closer to the bull.

Can someone tell my why? Can I improve my technique or load?
Left heavy load

[ABJ]

I am by no means an expert but the heavy loads look good. fast velocity loads have less dwell time in barrel and we the shooters have less time to influence the POI.
The right hand group looks like a grip and maybe trigger finger placement problem on the trigger. I'm at work goofing off so I don't have the old bullseye chart to explain what low left groups stem from. For me personally its from too much finger on trigger pushing the muzzle left.
What light loads are you using on the 125's? If your referring to the old 2.8 grain load for the 148 wadcutter I think its too light for the 125 and part of the large group maybe inaccurate loads. Light loads in general require a better hold, trigger control and follow through than mid range loads. Even though it all happens in milli-second us bullseye shooters constantly are working to improve those three things.
Tony

[megasupermagnum]

Both loads appear slightly left. Could be you, could be the sights. Its not uncommon for a strong load to shoot higher than a weak one. As for the poor accuracy, your gun just doesn't like that combo. You can try tweaking, but that is really bad. I would personally look first that the bullet isn't undersized. If it is good, I would just move on, not waste time on that bullet. I've never had good accuracy with a round nose bullet, no matter the caliber.

[megasupermagnum]

On closer inspection, are those two far left shots off paper a part of your Keith bullet group? If so, both groups are about equally poor. This is off a bench?

[onelight]

He said he is new to shooting revolvers , so until he gets a good feel for it might be a little early to judge the loads by group size .
I would say do a little dry fire practice and see if the sights stay on target as you drop the hammer try to maintain the same solid grip on every pull of the trigger.
It's hard to say when learning if it's the ammunition or the shooter unless you have someone you shoot with that you know is a good handgun shot that will fire a few groups with your gun and ammunition . But it's fun learning new guns

[clearwater]

On closer inspection, are those two far left shots off paper a part of your Keith bullet group? If so, both groups are about equally poor.

The first two were the most left ones as I got my glasses adjusted for open sights then the others were closer to the bull, When I went to the right target it just opened up.

This is off a bench?

Standing, single action, both hands.

[tazman]

I use both boolits and loads mentioned in my revolvers. Both are very accurate for me.
I think I would not rely on a single group on a single day to determine whether the loads in question work or not. I often have a bad day or even a partial bad day where I shoot poorly for a time. I give any new load at least 4 trips to the range to prove itself before I pass judgement on it.
You may go to the range next time and the groups will reverse or all be in the bullseye.

[clearwater]

Thanks all for the help. I still have some of each load and will try them again. Also will try some of the lighter boolits at higher velocity.

[megasupermagnum]

Ok, I was under the impression you were working up loads off a bench. In this case, I'd say just keep shooting, and don't try to improve load accuracy yet. There are others better than me who can help in that regard.

[rintinglen]

My guess is that the smaller boolits are undersized slightly and too hard for the lighter pressure to obturate, resulting in poor fit in the bore and the resultant wide dispersal. Some times poor fit can be overcome by a stout boot in the base of a boolit, provided that it is not too hard. The propellant's push expands the boolit slightly to fit the bore, resulting in better accuracy. A light charge doesn't push hard enough to bump up the boolit.

[dverna]

How close were you? At ten yards, it takes a really poor bullet to pattern like that

How do you shoot a .22 pistol?

[Electrod47]

Get your target off the ground and elevate it to 3 1/2 - 4' Stick a paper plate on it and walk back 7 long paces. Face the target and assume a solid Weaver stance and squeeze off double action. When you can keep 6 rounds on the paper plate regularly. Go back to load research from the bench and solid sandbag support single action action fire on similar target at same distance and you should have the beginnings of the answers you seek.